A Knight's Vow
by Bow of Sacae
Summary: All was well in the one, united kingdom of Valentia for almost one year before death extended her cold hands over the Zofian capital. In one fateful evening, the last hope for Valentia, King Alm, was stripped away from the world and has left a single knight to fulfill the vow that Alm once made. But is this really the knight for the job? {Warning: Character Death}
1. Chapter 1: Innocence Lost

Chapter 1: Innocence Lost

~.~.~.~

The throne room of the Zofian Castle echoed with the sound of rending flesh as the unknown blade pierced completely through the body of a young knight, sacrificing himself all for the sake of his king… his friend.

"Tobin!" King Alm cried out in a voice of desperation, quickly unsheathing his sword and charging across the room from his throne.

The young knight looked up with hazy, brown eyes to gaze upon the face of his killer. His eyes, slowly fading in color would widen in both shock and terror as he saw not the face of a man, but the face of Death, Herself.

"Who are… you?!" Tobin coughed out, blood dripping down his chin from his lips, the scythe's blade plunged deep into his chest.

The towering, skeletal woman stared down into Tobin's eyes as if devouring his very soul while the blade torturously ended his life, "I am Hel. I am Death. And you're just another soul to add to my collection. Do not fret, little lamb; for your king will be joining you shortly."

Hel's scythe was torn from Tobin's chest and the young, brown-haired knight collapsed onto the floor, all of his strength sapped away as his knees collided with the floor, and his cheek smashing into the carpet followed seconds after.

"What do you want from us, demon?!" He could hear Alm scream as his sacred blade collided in an explosion of sparks against the blindingly fast blows of her scythe.

"Where is your queen, pitiful king? Tell me where she is. I have come to claim what is rightfully mine… Her soul!" Hel's scythe came crashing down against Alm's steel and the force brought the king to his knees, Hel's seemingly unending strength causing his own body to give way beneath her.

Alm grunted out desperately to hold his ground, "I will never tell you! Celica was taken from me time and time again. But I won't let you take her again! Her soul is mine to protect!"

With a sudden burst of strength, Alm pushed her back before spinning around and lunging at the deathly woman with a last ditch strike to end her once and for all.

Tobin felt hope rise in his unevenly-beating heart, only for it to immediately be stripped away in the same second of fleeting desperation.

With a mere swing of her scythe, Alm gave up the last of his strength as her blade slashed through his chest and out the other side, his royal blood splashing against the Zofian throne.

As Alm fell limply against the carpet of the throne room, Tobin used every last bit of his energy to reach out for the king he gave up his life in vain to protect, tears welling in his eyes as he cried out, "Alm… Alm…!"

Light overtook Tobin's vision and his outreached hand descended to the floor as he breathed out one last time, "... Alm."

* * *

"_A life for a life. A fleeting breath for many more breaths. A soul to stop the flow of time," a calm, delicate voice in the distance whispered._

_The sounds of Zofia's demise rang through the air like a long-lost memory._

"_Tobin. Wake up," the voice spoke again, louder this time._

_The defeated knight did not answer her call, choosing instead to shut his eyes and accept his untimely demise in the bitter face of defeat._

"_Wake up!"_

* * *

The light in his eyes disappeared as new life filled his lungs, Tobin jumping up to his feet and quickly pressing a hand over the fatal wound on his chest as he was woken up by the voice of the distant, unseen woman.

In his moment of shock, Tobin contemplated his own death before he returned to reality. It was uncertain how long he had been dead, or if he was even dead to begin with but the scar on his chest and the violet-colored flames crawling up the walls of Zofia's castle walls confirmed that this nightmare that Tobin was experiencing was very much a reality.

That was when it struck him once again.

"Alm!"

Panic and desperation filling his chest, he lunged towards the king's limp body across the room and fell to his knees at the green-haired young man's side, holding his head up very gently. Alm's eyes were softly shut, his skin cold and pale. Even as he lay dead in Tobin's arms, blood continued to flow out onto his hands, the hands Tobin was created with to serve and protect his king. The purpose of those hands now lost.

"No. No, you can't leave this way. Celica is in trouble! We have to save her, Alm! You can't leave me to do this by myself. You've always been my strength in times like this… so you can't leave me! Not like this!"

Tobin shook Alm's cold, unmoving body and took his gloved hand to press it again his own cheek, the king's blood leaving a handprint on Tobin's cheek that left small streaks of red as his hand fell back down again.

"Not like this…! You can't. Alm!" Tobin choked out as tears streamed down his cheeks in mourning for his beloved childhood friend.

The sounds of a woman screaming down the hall broke Tobin from his short-lived moment of mourning as he quickly looked up at recognizing the woman's voice.

"Celica. That ugly woman is after Celica."

Tobin looked down at Alm's peaceful, emotionless expression and this time pressed his own hand against Alm's cheek, the bloodied handprint left behind matching the one on Tobin's cheek, "I remember your promise to Celica, Alm. You vowed to protect her and never let her be alone again, and in your stead, I will let no harm come to her."

Wiping the tears from his face, Tobin picked up Alm's sword to ensure Hel would not get it herself and he sheathed it so he could draw his own glistening, Valentian silver sword, "In life, I was your sword, Alm. In death, I am your promise to Celica incarnate. This is my vow to you."

"I don't know why I was brought back from the brink of death. I don't know why it couldn't be you, instead… but I won't let you down again. So long as I'm still breathing, no one else we love is going to die! Hel will pay for what she's done!"

Lunging back up to his feet, Tobin let out a fierce battle cry as he charged across the room, slamming his shoulder into the doors of the throne room to send them flying open as he came face to face with two, undead soldiers. Their eyes glowed an empty red color, their skin grey and rotting.

Tobin wouldn't waste a single second however as he dashed between them, the soldiers unable to even lift their blades as Tobin spun through them in a flurry of slashes, causing them to fall to the floor, dead once again.

As Tobin sprinted blindly down the hall, dodging around collapsing structures and burning debris, a sharp pain suddenly erupted in his chest as he received a fleeting vision.

* * *

_Hel stood in front of the red-haired queen with her scythe drawn, sunlight reflecting off of its bloodied edge._

"_You were destined to die, meek creature. Death called to you years ago and you denied its cold embrace. But you can deny me no longer… Face your death with what dignity you have left."_

_Celica backed up against a white railing, nowhere left to run as she quivered in fear of Hel looming over her, a legion of undead soldiers behind her._

"_N-No. Alm, help me… Alm!" A scream escaped Celica's lips as Hel's blade was brought down upon her._

* * *

Tobin gasped loudly as the vision ended and the pain in his chest faded away, "The patio overlooking Zofia… Hel is trying to corner Celica there! I'm coming, Celica!"

With only further renewed vigor, Tobin sprinted as fast as he could through the many halls of the Zofian Castle. Before he knew it, he was met by the sight of Gray and Lukas at the center of a heated battle between a group of undead soldiers and a dwindling group of Zofian knights, hacking away at the unending horde.

"Tobin! Get your clueless ass over here!" Gray shouted as he backed up from the battle momentarily with Lukas to gather their strength back up for the next wave of undead soldiers that would almost certainly be coming soon.

Tobin felt a wave of relief wash over him at the sight of at least one of his oldest friends, along with a friend from his days in the Deliverance, being still alive and well, "Gray! Lukas!"

Turning towards them, the bob-haired, young man rushed over to join them behind the wall of heavily armored Zofian knights.

Almost immediately as he joined them, Gray gave Tobin a firm punch to the shoulder, "Where have you been, you idiot?! You better not have been sleeping through this! Where's Alm at?"

Tobin didn't respond to the barrage of questions and instead answered by reaching up and hesitantly touching the print of Alm's blood still fresh on his cheek.

Gray and Lukas's faces both turned deathly pale.

A shaky chuckle escaped Gray's lips before he gulped a little, "Alm's… okay. Right, Tobin?"

Tobin shut his eyes painfully before looking up at the two fighting men with renewed determination in his eyes, "I'm sorry. I don't wanna come off as blunt but I need to find Celica. Alm wouldn't let me live it down if I let something happen to her."

Lukas looked down at the Falchion, that Tobin had taken, with a grim expression, "So it's true then? Has Valentia lost its king?"

Tobin gritted his teeth together to keep from falling apart during the dire moment at hand, "Guys, please! Hel is the leader of the undead army attacking Zofia. She's literally Death, Herself. And she wants to kill Celica! If I don't get to her quickly- well, I don't know what'll happen. But it can't be anything good!"

Gray gave a sad, quiet chuckle, "You're so stupid, Tobin. We told Celica to make for one of the back exits of the castle, because we thought that's where Alm would be, gathering reinforcements, but we got held up here stopping these damn zombies from chasing after her. We'll hold the line here. But don't let our buddy, Alm, down, alright? I can't explain why but… I know he's counting on you."

Lukas crossed his arms with battle-ready gaze, "So long as we stand here, no undead soldier will pass through us. Don't give Hel what she wants."

Tobin looked up at Gray, his brown eyes filled with restored confidence at his friends' kind words, "Thanks, guys. I won't let you down… I'm gonna make Hel regret the day she counted Tobin out!"

The hallways outside the corridor they stood in very suddenly erupted with the roars of undead soldiers charging in for another round of combat.

Gray gasped in surprise and suddenly shoved Tobin towards the hallway branching off their current corridor, "Get a move on then, Tobin! We've got your back!"

Tobin tripped over his own two feet from getting shoved but quickly caught his balance again and wordlessly sprinted down the hallway to find and rescue Celica.

As he made a beeline towards the patio he had the vision of her getting cornered in, he whispered a silent plea, "Gray. Lukas. People are counting you both to survive too. So please- don't die on me."

* * *

Celica ran quickly towards the rearmost exist of the castle, her eyes wide in urgency and her heart pounding in hope that Alm would be there waiting for her. Maybe even with an army at his back to save the day. That would be something Alm would do. Alm could surely fix this dire situation that Zofia had found itself in. Right?

As Celica reached the exit, she felt a fleeting moment of relief before finding a group of undead soldiers slowly marching into the castle through the doorway, not Alm and his forces like she had hoped.

"No!" Celica gasped out, backing away from the group of terrible soldiers and blasting several of them away with powerful wave of holy magic, killing several of them on impact. But Celica's counterattack seemed to be only in vain as more and more piled in, stomping on top of their defeated comrades without remorse.

"Who are they? Who could have created such horrible soldiers?" Celica asked as she turned and ran back the way she came, in the direction of Gray and Lukas in the corridor they were holding. Maybe they stood a better chance as a group.

Celica was met with even more undead soldiers appearing in the doorway behind her and a wave of despair washed over Celica as she fled from them as well, finding her only route of escape was up the stairs leading onto one of the castle's patios overlooking the city.

Panting breaths escaped Celica's lips as her chances of survival seemed to be dwindling in this very sudden and unexpected ambush by this massive undead army.

Upon reaching the patio, Celica stopped to catch her breath and ran over to the railing to find a rushing river far below the patio that wrapped around the castle's exterior and led towards the distant ocean. She could truthfully only gander at what her chances of surviving the fall would be.

The marching of the soldiers coming up the stairs became louder and louder before they all found their way onto the patio, effectively cornering Celica.

Before the queen, a cloud of violet smoke swirled and spiraled into existence before taking form into Hel, herself, her deadly scythe drawn to take another of the many lives she has stripped away.

Celica scowled at her as she backed away, "Who are you? What do you want from us? Valentia is entering a time of peace and prosperity, surely you can't be desiring to destroy that peace!"

Hel walked forward in a slow, looming way as she responded, "I am known by many names to many different people in many different eras. But you will know me as Hel. I am Death. And I have come to claim the soul that is rightfully mine… your soul."

Celica eyed the bloody edge of Hel's blade as it glistened ominously from the orange light of the sunset behind Celica.

In the cornered position she was forced into, Celica glared up at Hel sharply and created a magic ball of fire in her palm, "If you want my soul… you're going to have to come and claim it!" With a fierce cry, Celica thrust her hands forth and sent the two balls of fire spiraling towards Hel.

Not ceasing her steady pace towards Celica, Hel spun her scythe around in front of her, and effectively absorbed the balls of fire into it with seemingly no effort at all.

"You were destined to die, meek creature. Death called to you years ago and you denied its cold embrace. But you can deny me no longer… Face your death with what dignity you have left."

Celica stared in horror as even her ability to fight had seemed to be taken from her, her magic seeming to have no effect against the deathly deity at all. She attempted to back away from Hel but only found herself pressed back against the white railing behind her.

With a spin of her scythe, Hel extended her scythe behind her and stared coldly into Celica's eyes, "Now, die."

"N-No. Alm, help me… Alm!" Celica cried out before a clattering of metal suddenly resonated through the air, stopping Hel from lifting her blade to strike down the Zofian queen as Tobin came barrelling through the organized rows of undead soldiers.

"Hel! I have come to… w-woah!"

Shields came crashing down from the soldiers' hands, their bodies being thrown against each other like dominos as Tobin quite literally rolled into action, tripping over himself as he rushed towards Hel, who merely stepped aside as the clumsy knight protector got back onto his feet and spun around in front of Celica with his sword drawn in preparation to duel.

"Ahem. Hel! I have come to strike you down right here and now!" Tobin stammered out, blowing a piece of his brown bangs out of his eyes.

Celica stared at Tobin's back with a stunned look, "Tobin? How did you find me here?"

Tobin glanced back at Celica and whispered to her, "Well, you see, Hel actually killed me when I sacrificed myself trying to protect Alm, but then I was brought back to life somehow and-"

He paused upon noticing Celica's befuddled expression.

"-you know what? It's a really long story and we don't really have time to get into that right now. Point is, I'm here to protect you! I made a vow to Alm that I wouldn't let any harm come to you."

Celica frowned deeply, "He sent you to protect me? That seems so unlike him to not come personally..." she trailed off in thought.

Tobin became deathly silent, much to Celica's dismay.

"Alm… did send you to come protect me right?"

His eyes trailed downward to the floor and he muttered out quietly, "It was kind of a self-given order. Alm didn't send me to do anything."

Hel hummed deeply in disappointment, "It would seem my meddlesome daughter may have disrupted your slow demise that I granted you. I should have known she couldn't keep her hands to herself. No matter. I've already felt the Saint King's soul enter my realm. His power is mine now."

Celica's face turned white as a ghost as she peered around Tobin's shoulder, "W-What? No. Alm can't be. There's no way it's true!" She shouted in rage.

A slow, sardonic smirk found its way across Hel's lips as she replied, "Your beloved King Alm is dead."

Celica stepped back from Tobin, shuddering from the sharp pain of her heart shattering to pieces, "No…!" She gasped out before screaming, "No!"

Tobin turned around to reach out for her, "Celica, it will be alright. You can't fall apart now, we need you to be strong!"

She looked up at Tobin with tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips quivering as she sobbed in despair, "I-I can't! Not without Alm!"

Seeing her chance, Hel suddenly grew a dark, malicious grin as she lunged at the distracted pair with her scythe drawn the cut them both in two before Celica's eyes darted past Tobin to see Hel lunging in for the finishing blow.

With a sharp intake of air, Celica thrust her hand out and sent forth a powerful blast of holy magic. The blinding light of the spell erupted in a great flash as the explosion that followed sent Hel and all of her soldiers flying backward and threw Tobin into Celica, his arms wrapping tightly around her in a last-ditch effort to save her as the two were flung off of the patio and plunged down towards the river below.

Both cried out in shock as they shared a long descent towards the water before crashing beneath its surface with one large splash bursting into the air.

Silence followed their descent as Hel slowly picked herself back up and walked over to stare downward from her place on the patio to see if they had survived the fall into the river.

One of Hel's knights rushed over to peer over the side with Hel, before looking up at Hel with his wide, empty red eyes, "Mistress Hel. Do you think they survived the fall? Should we scour the river for their corpses?"

"Do not bother. I know for certain that they survived the fall and the river will have carried them too far away from our clutches by the time you reach where they fell."

The knight nodded in understanding, "Then what should we do, Mistress? Queen Celica was the last soul you came here to claim, was she not? Let us send out various search parties and they will bring her to you once they find her."

Hel scowled down at him in disgust, "She will be far from the last soul I claim here. But I do not need to hunt her down. No… we will ensure that she and her new little lamb protector will return to me by choice."

"How do you plan to do that, Mistress?"

Another cold, malicious simper slipped across Hel's lips before she turned and walked away, "Concentrate all of my forces on every city, town, and village with innocent lives that we can bring to an abrupt end. They will add to my endlessly growing power and before long, the delicate flower will be forced to build up an army and contest my reign. There, I will claim what is mine."

Hel's knight bowed obediently before quickly marching away, proclaiming, "I will have your army prepared for your upcoming conquest, Mistress."

Her hands pressing against the white railing, Hel leaned over the side to peer into the flowing river again with a calculating gaze, "Meddle in my affairs all you wish, Eir. You are only prolonging the inevitable. In the end… Mother always claims the souls she desires."

* * *

Tobin fell into a fit of coughing as he jerked awake, sitting up to find himself on a sandy shore next to the river, soaking wet and half his armor seeming to have been stripped off into the river from the fall.

The taste of salt water filled his mouth as he spat onto the ground to get it all out of his system, coughing until he could properly breathe again.

Once he caught his breath, he regained his wits and jumped up to his feet, "Celica? Celica!"

"I'm over here," a quiet, womanly voice replied from down the shoreline.

Tobin would turn to find Celica sitting on a log at the end of the shore and he became quiet at seeing her balled up with her knees pressed to her chest atop a log fallen on its side as she mourned quietly, alone. Slowly but surely, Tobin trotted his way over and sat down next to her on the log, his shoulders slumped as he leaned forwards with arms crossed loosely, "I'm sorry, Celica. I really am. More than anyone, I feel the pain you're feeling right now."

"The timing of all of this, Tobin. It's too surreal," Celica whispered, her eyes shut tightly, "We were to be wed next month, at last. Everything was going so well and I thought… surely, nothing else would go wrong ever again. And now he's gone, just like that."

Tobin listened to her silently for a moment before nodding a little, "I know all of that, Celica. I was just beginning to enjoy the peace as well. But we're up against the actual god of death now. This isn't quite like anything we've been up against before. I'm sure Alm realized that in his final moments too…"

Celica looked up with a serious look, suddenly, "Tobin, you said you came back from the dead somehow when Hel killed you. How did that happen?"

He shook his head, "I dunno, milady. All I heard was a woman's voice in the distance, talking about 'a life for a life' or something along those lines. I wasn't fully paying attention there…" he admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Celica let a small, sad smile cross her lips at that, "You're so clueless, Tobin. But Alm relied on you; so I'm willing to rely on you too. You did save my life today, after all."

Tobin's cheeks flushed at getting a rare compliment and he chuckled in embarrassment, "It was nothing, really. I almost got myself killed trying to help you, but we got out of there in one piece, so I must not be too bad at this whole 'hero' business."

"Speaking of which," Celica glanced up at him again, "What are we going to do now? Zofia is crumbling to cinders as we speak. The one man we know could stop all of this is... no longer with us. How are we going to avenge Alm and stop what feels like the end of the world?"

Tobin suddenly stood tall from the log, placing his hands on his hips.

"Hel killing me, temporarily, caused me to have some sort of link to her. I can feel her, even as we speak. I can't help but feel like the attack on the castle won't be the last place to suffer at her hands... We need to just pick ourselves up and go. We'll go, and find everyone that was a part of the Deliverance, and then some, and we'll utilize our old friends to build up an army. And when we have our army, we should strike at Hel the same way she struck at us: when she least expects it!" Tobin exclaimed, albeit a bit hopefully.

Celica's eyebrows rose a bit in surprise at his sudden burst of confidence, "Well, alright. It's not the easiest plan to work with, but it's a start. We're close to the Zofian harbor. Last I heard, Saber was in that area and he certainly has some connections we could work with. Perhaps we could start there?"

Tobin smiled a bit at Celica offering her input and he nodded quickly, "That's a good start. We'll need to move quickly though… I don't yet know where Hel plans to strike next and night time will be here before we know it. Would you care to lead the way, milady?"

Celica chuckled softly and waved her hands as she stood, "No formalities please, Tobin. We've known each other since we were very little, there's no reason to be so formal."

Tobin's face turned red in a sheepish way and he glanced aside, "Right. Uh, I was thinking the same thing. Anyways, let's get going!"

Despite asking her to lead the way, Tobin marched ahead regardless, seeming to forget that he wasn't familiar with these woods. Celica paused for a moment to watch him march away, deciding to give him a second to figure out his own error as she giggled quietly.

Glancing back at the pillar of violet smoke drifting into the sky from the castle in the distance one last time, Celica frowned sadly and pressed her hand over her heart gently and shut her eyes for one last moment of mourning.

"Zofia. Alm… Rest easy now. Even if I must draw my last breath at the end of this, I will ensure that justice is brought against Hel for all that she has taken from me. This is my vow to you."

...


	2. Chapter 2: Undying Flame

Chapter 2: Undying Flame

...

_Alm's screams of defiance echoed off the walls of an unknown chamber, more akin to a tomb than anything else. Teeth gnashing, his arms and legs tugged at the ethereal chains that bound his body to the floor, his skin pale and his eyes glowing a shade of bright green._

_"His will is stronger than I expected. Much stronger," Hel thought aloud to a mysterious person behind her, "It will take some more time before he succumbs to my will. At that time, he will become a valuable asset to my army. Until then…"_

_Hel turned to a massive, hulking suit of golden armor with deep red eyes behind her._

_"You will serve as my hand, reaching out to slowly choke the life out of the Zofian Queen and her little lamb that has oh so valiantly vowed to protect her. Is that understood?"_

_The suit of armor nodded very slowly._

_"Good. You will return to the land of the living at once and track down those pesky fools before they can scrounge up some desperate form of hope that they might ever defeat me. You are no brilliant tactician in your own right, to say the least… But I'm sure you'll serve as at least a decent bloodhound, will you not?"_

_The armor glared at her angrily but said nothing._

_Hel simpered at the armor's frustration before turning back to Alm behind her, still thrashing around furiously, "Now, where were we, my darling little Saint-King?"_

_The air suddenly erupted in intense purple fire as Hel thrust out her palm and sent forth a plume of smoke and flame to start burning Alm's soul with a level of heat that would certainly destroy any mortal in mere seconds._

_Alm let out a cry of pain as he took on the full force of the fire before glancing away very slowly as if sensing another presence in the room with them._

_His eyes narrowed sharply as the green in his eyes faded to a deep, ominous violet as he cried out in rage, "Tobin! Tobin!"_

* * *

Tobin awoke sharply with a deep intake of air, grasping his chest and panting loudly as he suddenly felt like the sun itself had come down to the earth and roasted his body alive.

His brown eyes darted around in the darkness of the room he found himself in before realizing he was in a small inn room with Celica. Tobin turned to his right to find himself staring out a window with a perfect view of the moon's glow emanating through the glass.

To his left, he would feel at ease to find Celica curled up in a ball on her side in the one bed available in the room and her eyes were open, looking at Tobin with a concerned frown.

"Are you alright, Tobin?"

Tobin had to process the question for a long moment, and it was at this time that he could feel his cheeks wet with his own tears. Slowly, he reached up to wipe them away with his lightly tan fingers.

"I'm okay, Celica," he smiled at her weakly, "Just had a nightmare is all."

Celica looked away, "I know you're lying. I heard you crying in your sleep the moment you fell asleep… then you started screaming Alm's name. I was about to come and wake you, until you woke yourself up."

He became very quiet, for once not knowing what to tell her. He was speechless.

"Tobin, it's okay to mourn for Alm. You don't have to put on a brave face for my sake. I appreciate it more than you know, but we both just lost someone very dear to us. Potentially… many people dear to us."

Celica trailed off and quietly covered her mouth to keep herself from sobbing again.

Tobin's eyes widened a little and he furiously scrubbed his puffy, red eyes with his sleeve before rushing over to sit down on the bed next to her, "Hey, don't cry. I was already a big crybaby in front of you, I don't want you to have to cry too," he said, giving a pained but consoling smile.

She looked up at him, her glassy eyes filled with tears already as she sat up to press her face into his shoulder, choking out quiet sobs into his pale, beige shirt.

"I-I can't help it. In all the years I've trained, travelled, and fought… I've never had to do it alone like this. What if I can't do it, Tobin? I'm not like Alm. He always knew better than me on how to fight against dire circumstances."

Tobin shook his head and gently placed one hand onto her bright red hair, giving her a stern look as she glanced up at him in surprise.

"You're right. You're not Alm, but neither am I. And yet here I am, risking life and limb to protect you in his stead. It's not going to be easy, but we'll make it up as we go. But you've gotta trust me, alright?"

Celica gave a sad smile up at him before nodding softly, "I trust you, Tobin. You saved my life once… I know you'll stand by my side every step of the way."

Tobin chuckled sheepishly, "I would certainly hope so. Though one of us has to be the brain to my brawn, so don't hesitate to give me a firm talkin' to if I get too far away from you on the battlefield, alright?"

She let out a small giggle and shut her eyes as she leaned her face into his shoulder and smiled wordlessly.

He watched her for a second before nudging her lightly, "Celica?"

Tobin nudged her once more to try and get a response out of her before noticing she had fallen asleep against his shoulder. A very small smile crossed his lips before staring down at his lap, where his smile would fade once more.

"Alm… I'll find a way to end your suffering. I'll stop Hel and her whole army by myself if it means that I can bring justice for all the pain she's caused you and Celica. I promise…"

His head started to tilt up and down a couple times before his eyes finally shut and he fell asleep too, his head leaning against Celica's own sleeping head.

* * *

Tobin and Celica's bodies were suddenly thrown violently from the bed by the feeling of a massive earthquake suddenly shaking the whole inn, fire bursting through the window and causing shards of glass to rain from the air as the two covered their heads to shield themselves, ears ringing and their vision disoriented.

"Tobin! What's going on?!" Celica cried out in confusion.

He looked up at the window without a response, fearing the worst as he rushed over to the window, now just a giant hole in the wall as he was met with a sight that would strike fear into even the bravest of warriors.

A gigantic man in armor, half the size of the inn was standing outside in the middle of the village Celica and Tobin had taken refuge in, his skin a dark tan, his hair long, red and flowing as wildly as the fire that was now consuming every house in the village.

Screams of innocent villagers rung through the air as the monstrous man stood and stared straight into Tobin's eyes from afar, "You and your little Queen cannot hide from the undying flame. I am Surtr! And I am your demise!"

Surtr suddenly swung back his axe in challenge of Tobin and Celica, "Come! Meet your deaths with some courage, little lambs! Lest I slaughter this whole village until you face me!"

Tobin scowled deeply, his pupils shrinking ever so slightly as he grabbed his sword from the nearby dresser.

Celica quickly took notice of this and grabbed his arm, "Tobin, what are you doing?! His magic is too strong, we need to lead him away from this village, not fight him!"

He glanced down at Celica's hands on his arm before giving a sheepish grin, "Okay, so I'll hold him off while you make an escape route for the villagers. Easy as cake."

"Tobin! You can't do that… you're not strong enough!"

The young knight paused at that, becoming deathly silent as he swallowed those words like ball of iron sinking into his stomach.

Celica stared up at him with wide eyes when he didn't respond, "Aren't you listening to me?!"

Tobin frowned deeply all of a sudden and tugged his arm away from her coldly, "Save the villagers. I'll keep him busy. I might not be strong enough to kill him… But I can still give him a swift kick in the ass."

"Tobin-"

"Now, Celica!" Tobin suddenly barked out at her as he jumped down from the giant hole in their inn room with his sword held high.

Celica winced at Tobin's anger before sighing quietly to herself, "Mila, protect us all…" And with that, she turned tail towards the door and rushed downstairs.

Surtr grinned in a pleased way as the much shorter, brown-haired knight approached him with his silver sword drawn for battle. A loud laugh escaped his throat, throwing his head back in hysterics before looking back down at Tobin again.

"You're the Queen's knight protector?! I've crushed men twice your size with my big toe."

Tobin was starting to sweat nervously, but grinned haughtily despite it, "Well, you better get ready for a stubbed toe then, because you're not crushing me with any part of your big, ugly self."

Surtr scowled at that, "You have a sharp tongue, rat. Come! Let me dull that sharp tongue with my axe of myth and legend… Sinmara!" The fire king threw back his long axe, the curved blade igniting with a fire so hot that Tobin could already feel its heat radiating onto him from 10 yards away.

Tobin smiled brightly in a taunting way, "C'mon then, ugly! I'll give ya the first swing just because I feel bad for your fat, sorry ass!"

An enraged growl rumbled out from Surtr's throat before he let out deep cry of intense fury, charging Tobin like a bull and bringing his axe down upon the knight of Ram Village in one powerful strike.

* * *

Celica panted breathlessly as she guided a group of villagers over to a place she had found where the fence around the village had been split down the middle, the opening in the fence leading straight into the woods.

"Quickly, this way! Keep heading north until you reach the next village. Warn them of what happened here!" She shouted to them as they made their escape.

One of the women in the group suddenly stopped in front of Celica with a terrified expression, "My little girl is missing! The fire separated us at the marketplace and I can't find her! Please… I can't leave here without my daughter. She's all I have left!"

Celica nodded in affirmation and squeezed the woman's shoulder to comfort her, "My knight protector and I will find your daughter, don't worry. Just stay away from the fire!" She warned her as she turned around and ran back into the village.

* * *

Tobin let out a loud cry of desperation as he barely managed to barrel roll around another one of Surtr's powerful strikes, a plume of fire bursting forth from the ground as Tobin scurried away from the giant, armored brute.

"Stop fleeing from me, little lamb. Face Sinmara's fire with some courage before it consumes your very being!"

Surtr spun around with his axe in a swift, horizontal slash that Tobin quickly ducked under, the blade slicing off a small piece of his bobbed hair as Tobin dove in to deliver a powerful counter strike, "Alright, maybe I willI!"

His sword struck Surtr's armor and rebounded off of it, bouncing Tobin backwards and sending vibrations all over his body.

"W-W-Woah!" Tobin stammered out from the intense vibration.

Surtr let out loud laugh once again as Tobin bounced away with no effect at all, "You damned fool, no mere silver sword is going to pierce my armor. You'll have to do better than that."

Tobin growled angrily as he tried to find some sort of weakness on his hulking foe before suddenly hearing the shrill sound of a little girl screaming across the village behind Surtr.

"Mama! I need my mama!"

Tobin's eyes widened in slight shock at seeing a little girl with her brunette hair in pigtails walking slowly towards Surtr while she rubbed her tear-filled eyes.

Celica suddenly bolted out from between two houses behind Tobin and she gasped sharply, "Tobin! The little girl!"

Surtr frowned deeply at the interruption and turned around to see the crying child before a sick grin found its way across his lips as he drew his axe back, ready to hurl another plume of fire at the lost child.

Tobin's pupils narrowed in on the little girl before he sprinted forward without another thought, lunging up onto Surtr's bent right knee to kick himself up into the air, thrusting his sword down into Surtr's already-scarred right eye as the blade slid through the opening of his golden helmet and pieced down into his eye socket, blood gushing in every direction.

Surtr let out loud cry of agony as he dropped his axe onto the ground and grabbed onto his face with both hands in immense pain, "My eye! Aggh!"

Tobin pushed himself off Surtr's chest to send himself soaring towards the little girl, barely landing properly on both feet as he swept her up into his arms and sprinted towards the edge of the village where he spotted a woman waiting at the broken fence where Celica left her.

The middle-aged woman gasped and reached her arms out towards Tobin and the crying girl in his grasp, "Julia! My little girl!"

The girl reached out towards her mother in return, "Mama!"

Celica saw Tobin making his way towards the broken fence and ran after him before receiving a harsh blow to the face by Surtr swinging his arm around to smack her hard, sending her flying back against a nearby stone well and immediately slumping onto the ground unconscious.

"You won't escape me, weakling Queen!" Surtr spat out in rage, blood flowing down the side of his face as he pried the sword out of his eye socket and tossed it aside, picking up his axe again to make his way towards the unconscious priestess warrior.

Tobin looked back at Celica, his heart suddenly starting to pound in fear as he rushed over to throw the little girl into her mother's embrace before making a beeline towards a nearby barn, "Please let there be horses in here, please-"

He threw open the barn door only for horses to come pouring out of the burning building in terror, stampeding out of the village to escape and nearly trampling Tobin in the process.

"Damn it!" Tobin barked out, before hearing the loud neigh of a single horse left, stuck behind a burning log and kicking its front legs up in the air as it tried to get away from the fire as well.

A wave of relief washed over Tobin as he sprinted over to save the horse, grabbing a saddle and reins off a nearby crate as he went, swiftly.

…

Celica's vision returned in a shifting blur as Surtr loomed over her menacingly, his axe drawn to kill and his one good eye lit with rage as he stared down at her, "Hel told me to bring you back in one piece if I found you… But as of now? I think I will bring you back to her split in two pieces!"

She very slowly stood back up to her feet, her knees shaking slightly as she drew her sword in preparation to fight, "I will not be defeated here. Not by you… not even by Hel!" Celica screamed in defiance.

Surtr gritted his teeth in a wild, animalistic fury before raising his axe up high, "Tell that to your pathetic goddess when you meet her!"

A sharp whistle suddenly rang through the air behind Surtr as Tobin's voice shouted out, "Hey, ugly, look back here with the one eye you have left!"

Surtr turned around just in time to see Tobin dart straight past him at full speed on horseback, the young knight reaching down off the side of the horse to wrap an arm around Celica's waist and swing her up onto his lap, drawing a sharp gasp of surprise out of the priestess queen as they galloped away faster than Surtr could even turn back around to stop them.

He could only watch in great dismay as the pair disappeared into the woods atop their horse.

The fires that consumed the village grew hotter and hotter before razing the now empty village into a giant bonfire as the tyrant cried out into the sky in great frustration of their narrow escape.

"Damn you both!" Surtr cried out, his voice echoing across the sky.

* * *

Tobin kept the horse running for what felt like an eternity, not stopping until the horse simply couldn't run anymore and had to slow down to a trot to regain its energy.

Celica stared down at his chest in shock where she sat between his legs, her own legs draped off the side of the horse, "You saved me… again."

He looked down at her when he heard her spoke, but didn't respond as he merely looked forward at the slender dirt path again.

Hesitantly, she looked up at him with a slight wince as if waiting for him to yell at her but her expression returned to neutral when he seemed indifferent about conversing with her.

"Tobin, I-"

"You told me you trusted me last night, Celica. What happened to that when I offered to hold him back for you to help the villagers?"

Celica looked down somberly, "I just… didn't want you to get hurt, Tobin. That's all."

With a shake of his head, he looked down at her finally, "Don't worry about me. In the grand scheme of things, my life doesn't matter even half as much as yours does. You're going to have to let me take risks to help you if we're going to continue doing what's right for others."

She frowned deeply at that and looked up at him sharply, "Your life matters to me. Or is that simply not enough to warrant me not wanting you to kill yourself for me?"

Tobin became silent again before letting out a quiet sigh.

"Alright, I'm sorry for risking my neck for no reason. I shouldn't have tried to take him on. But hey, the important thing is that we both made it out alive. And all of the villagers escaped too, right?

She nodded in response, "As far as I could tell, yes. That little girl was the only one I wasn't able to save, but you took care of her."

"Julia," he replied with a nod of his own, "Her name was Julia. I didn't catch the mother's name before I had to bolt but… I thought the name was pretty so I remembered it."

Celica smiled a little bit and looked down at her feet dangling off the side of the horse, "That is a very pretty name for a little girl."

Tobin looked down at Celica for a moment before looking up with redness in his cheeks as he got back on topic, "Anyways, I hope you can forgive me for being dumb and reckless like I was."

"I forgive you," she quickly responded, glancing away with a saddened look, "And I'm sorry for doubting your abilities. That wasn't very fair of me."

A long pause lulled between them as he took in her words before looking down at her with a reassuring grin, "It's alright, I forgive you too. Just remember next time not to count Tobin out." He winked.

The red-haired priestess looked up and giggled a little, "Don't worry, I won't count Tobin out ever again. That much I can make a promise on."

Tobin held his pinkie finger up all of a sudden, "Pinkie promise on it?"

Celica giggled once again before lifting her own pinkie to hook it onto his, "Yes, I'll even pinkie promise on it."

A smile found its way across Tobin's lips at that, the first happy smile he'd been able to genuinely give in days as he looked back up at the road again, "Zofia's harbor town… it's straight ahead. We made it." He suddenly told her.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked ahead of them again to see the gates to the the Zofian harbor open for visitors travelling through, as if giving a warm welcome to the weary pair as she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Thank Mila. I only pray that Saber is still in town once we're inside the town's gates…"

* * *

Celica waited for Tobin by the local tavern while he took the horse to the stables for it to get some water and rest after the rather traumatizing day it had.

She could suddenly hear Tobin yawn as he made his way over to the tavern with her, stretching his stiff arms up over his head as he glanced up at the sign dangling next to the front door of the tavern.

"You sure this is where Saber will be? Who knows, maybe he's sober now?" Tobin inquired.

Celica let out a sheepish chuckle and brushed a lock of her red hair out of her face, "Trust me, there isn't a sober bone in his body. If he's anywhere, it will be here."

Tobin nodded in understanding and motioned towards the door, "After you then, skinny-legs."

Her eyes grew wide at that, "Skinny-legs?! Why I'd never-" She huffed a little before turning her nose up and making her way inside, Tobin smirking to himself as he followed.

The pair separated, asking around the tavern with surprisingly little to show for it. After asking around for a while, they both finally decided to ask the bartender about Saber being in the area recently.

"Saber? Last I heard of that old mercenary dog, he was staying in a little cottage we have not far down the road from here. Good little spot for couples on vacation," the older man scratched his beard thoughtfully, "I heard he's staying there with a wife or somethin' of the sorts. Nearly turned my hair white when I'd heard he actually settled down with one woman. I didn't think him the marrying type. Anyways, just head down the road heading east from here, it'll take you right to the cottage he's staying at."

Tobin and Celica gave the bartender their thanks before heading back outside the tavern and following the directions he had given them.

Celica stared forward with a rather surprised expression as they made their way down the road heading east towards the cottage, "Saber got married? I wonder what his wife is like."

Tobin crossed his arms behind his head and hummed thoughtfully, "Hmm, I dunno. I hope she's nice though…" his stomach suddenly let out a loud growl and he frowned poutily as he pressed a hand over his flat abdomen, "... And I hope she can cook too."

She smirked a little as she suddenly walked ahead of him, "Well, if you want to find out, you'll have to get a move on, skinny-arms."

A gasp of disbelief escaped his lips as he chased after her, "Skinny-arms?! You can't be serious, look at these muscles! Come on, touch 'em!" He shouted, flexing one of his arms as he chased after her. Celica laughed a little to herself as she ran away from him trying to get her to feel his noticeably slender arms.

* * *

Celica took a deep breath, trying to ease her nerves of seeing her old friend for the first time in over a year before knocking firmly on the door.

The two young warriors stared at the door in a rather awkward silence before looking at each other in slight confusion. Silently, Tobin reached up to knock on the door as well.

Once again, no answer.

A small sigh escaped Celica's lips after a while and she shut her eyes in a disheartened way, "We must have just missed him… Oh, well. We should head to Novis next. Mae and Boey are there, and I believe they can-"

She very quickly stopped talking as Tobin nonchalantly opened the apparently unlocked door and walked inside without a second thought, the pair making eye contact with a very small, young woman across the room inside with fluffy, bright orange hair and a teapot in her hands

"Tobin, what are you-?"

Celica gawked in disbelief as she immediately recognized who was about to answer the door before he walked in on his own accord.

"Genny?!" Celica shouted.

Genny jumped at the shouting and dropped her porcelain teapot, causing it to shatter on the wooden floor, "Celica?!"

Saber suddenly came rushing in from another room at hearing all the racket, wearing an old, frilled white shirt and tight, brown trousers with a shocked look on his face, "Celica?!"

Celica's eyes immediately darted towards him in even further disbelief, "Saber?!"

Tobin glanced between the three in slight confusion, not seeming to get what was going on as he waved and exclaimed, "And I'm Tobin!"

Silence filled the room for what felt like hours, but was actually just several seconds.

With a small, awkward cough, Tobin pointed towards the other room and said, "I'll just go… find a towel to clean this mess up." And with that, he walked into the other room to momentarily get away from the uncomfortable aura that now covered the whole room.

"Saber, Genny is your-?"

Saber let out a quiet, stressed sigh before running his fingers through his red hair and looking at Genny who, in turn, looked at him.

Finally, he looked back at Celica again and waved his hand towards one of the couches in the room invitingly.

"Celica, why don't you sit down so we can talk for a bit? It seems like we've both got a lot to discuss…"

...


	3. Chapter 3: A Call to Arms

Chapter 3: A Call to Arms

…

Celica spent several long minutes explaining hers and Tobin's story to Saber, the two old friends sitting on the couch in the living room together while Celica fleshed out the grueling details of her multiple narrow escapes from death in just the past couple days alone.

Meanwhile, Tobin and Genny caught up, themselves, with some friendly chatter while Tobin helped Genny clean up the broken teapot from earlier by brushing up the scattered shards of the pot all over the floor. The two didn't know each other very well but they were taking this chance to get to know each other better while Celica and Saber, Genny's apparent husband, discussed the grim details of the past week.

"So Zofia has really fallen, eh?" Saber asked as Celica finished telling her story, leaning back in his seat with a quiet sigh, "I'm guessing this bitch you pissed off isn't going to stop gutting innocents until you're dead either, is she?"

Celica frowned deeply and nodded in confirmation, "Hel has already taken countless lives of Zofia's people… I fear that every other nation may soon follow now that the united Valentia has lost the glue that has held it together for this past year."

"You mean King Alm?" Saber asked with a raised brow.

She looked down mournfully in response and nodded again, much more slowly, "... Yes. I mean Alm."

Saber let out a gruff sound and scratched the back of his head a bit uncertainly, "I dunno what to do for ya, lass. I'm not much involved with Jesse's mercenaries anymore. Ever since Genny and I got married, I've been trying to settle down, ya know? Form a nice home life for myself… maybe start a family."

Genny's face turned red as a tomato at hearing that and Tobin smirked amusedly at immediately noticing it.

Celica seemed disheartened to hear that but she understood nonetheless, "I don't blame you. I wanted to start a family with Alm too, before all of this happened…" She pressed her hand over her heart and turned her gaze downward as a short silence fell over the room.

Tobin looked down and scratched the back of his brown-haired head awkwardly, but didn't say anything in response. Genny glanced up at him curiously for a moment and smiled wordlessly as to give him reassurance of some sort, which caused his face to turn red in slight confusion.

Celica suddenly looked up at Saber again and smiled warmly, despite the pain she felt in her chest, "So, while we have a fleeting moment to catch up, how did you and Genny end up getting married in such a short period of time? Surely, you both must have fell for each other fairly recently."

Saber and Genny both jumped a little at Celica's change in attitude but Saber chuckled nervously in response, "Well, uh, I wouldn't say it was any time recently…"

Genny grinned all of a sudden, "It was love at first sight! He said he was smitten by me from the very beginning."

"W-Woah, woah there, lass! Let's not be quoting one of your little stories you like to write now-" He stammered out, his face turning as red as his hair as he glanced away sheepishly, trying to keep up his manly demeanor.

Genny giggled at Saber's denial and walked over to wrap her arms around his neck from behind the couch, "It's okay, tough guy, we both know what you said." She winked down at him, causing Saber to look away and grumble to himself.

Tobin tilted his head a little at that and smiled softly, "Aw, shucks, you two. I wish I got the chance to experience that too, during the good ol' days back when we were still the Deliverance. I'm so happy for you both, though. Finding love in a time of war ain't something everyone can stake their claim to!"

Celica's orange-red eyes widened at that and she looked up at Tobin in slight shock, "Tobin, you never took a bride?!"

The brown-haired knight protector looked down at Celica with a puzzled look before chuckling a little, "Well, no, Celica. I figured it would've been pretty obvious by now. Alm married you, Gray married Clair, Kliff took off, and Faye married Mila-only-knows-who… Was it not obvious I wasn't taken when I was the only one at our monthly get-togethers without a girl attached to my arm?" He rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment.

Celica stared up at him, still a bit stunned that Tobin never found someone to marry but she looked down with a thoughtful expression, "I never gave it any thought but I guess that would make sense. Just with how kind and pure you are, I thought for sure the village girls back home would be fawning for your affection." She smiled at him.

Tobin blushed at that and looked away, "N-No, ma'am. I guess no girl wants to deal with all of my little siblings that I'm constantly looking after."

"That's ridiculous!" The red-haired queen laughed a little, "Children are always such a joy to be around."

He smiled a little in a reassured way at that, "Yeah. I sure do miss them right now, though. Gods, I hope they're alright…"

Celica looked up at Tobin with a stern, but reaffirming gaze, "Your siblings are perfectly fine, Tobin. As soon as we find more capable soldiers to back our fight against Hel, we'll go straight to Ram Village and get them to a safer and more secluded place. I promise."

Tobin smiled down at her with the big, goofy grin that he almost always had on his face, "Thanks, Celica. That means the world to me."

Her cheeks pinkened a little but she smiled wordlessly in return.

Saber and Genny watched the two converse for a while before looking at each other as if they knew their thoughts were the same in that moment. A small frown found its way across Saber's lips.

"Lass, this could get ugly. I don't want you getting hurt if this starts another big war we're gonna have to fight," he told his small, peach-haired wife.

Genny beamed happily at Saber seeming to change his mind about helping Celica and she kissed his cheek gently, "I go where you go. If you're going to fight with Celica, then that's where I'll be too. After all, I'm no mere damsel in distress, you know."

Saber chuckled dryly, "Yeah, I know, I've seen you take on your fair share of arcanists, terrors, and the like. Alright, I guess you can come along too."

"Yes! That makes me so happy to hear you say that, Saber," she cheered.

Tobin and Celica glanced over at the married couple in surprise at hearing Genny suddenly cheer.

"What's going on?" Tobin asked in a confused manner.

Saber sighed gruffly, "I guess I could… ya know, contact Jesse and all. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to help after y'all saved Valentia and all of that. And naturally, I'll lend any help that I can. Which is obviously going to be far better than any army I can get in contact with for ya." He smirked a little in a teasing way.

Celica gasped and suddenly stood up from her seat swiftly, "You mean it? You'll fight at my side again?"

Saber stood up from his seat as well and shrugged, "Sure, why not? I can't deny my sword arm has been itching to gut some bad guys anyways. And from what you've said, these guys we're up against are already dead so why don't we do them a favor and put them back in the ground where they belong?"

Celica hopped in excitement before wrapping her arms around Saber to hug him tightly, "Thank you, Saber. It means so much to me!"

The older mercenary was taken aback by the sudden embrace before smiling softly and patting her head, "Heh. You know me, lass. I have a pretty hard time saying no to you."

Genny pouted jealously after the embrace lingered for a few seconds to which Saber merely smirked at her in amusement.

Tobin clapped his hands together all of a sudden, "Okay! So we've got two new friendly faces in our crew and, potentially, a mercenary army at our backs. Where to next?"

Celica pulled away finally and spun around to face Tobin again, "Yes. I think we should get on a boat from the harbor and head to Novis where I was raised. There are many well-trained mages there, along with Mae, Boey, and Nomah. I'm certain if we visited them in person, they'd be more than willing to provide any help we need."

Her knight protector nodded in affirmation, "Alright, sweet. So it's off to Novis with the four of us then?"

Saber gave a thumbs-up in response, "You got it, kid. Let me just head upstairs and grab the bags Genny and I packed, and we'll be on our-"

His statement was sharply interjected by the feeling of the floorboards starting to shake, the very earth beneath them starting to quiver as if in fear of what had caused it. Celica stumbled backward to which Tobin quickly stepped forward and caught her shoulders, Saber taking Genny's hand to keep her knees from buckling.

"What the hell is that?!" Saber exclaimed.

Celica and Tobin's eyes quickly met, both of them immediately recognizing the quake, "Surtr."

"Server? The hell are they serving?" Saber barked out.

Tobin made sure Celica could stand again as the quaking stopped and he shook his head, "Surtr. He's kind of a fire god… king… beast. It's really hard to explain, but get ready for a fight!"

With that, Tobin bolted out the door with Celica not far behind him.

Genny looked up at Saber in confusion, "What are they talking about?!"

Saber growled sharply, "I don't know… but grab your staff. I get the feeling this ain't gonna be a cake walk. C'mon!"

* * *

A blood-curdling roar echoed through the sky above the Zofian port town as Surtr marched down the street, houses around him erupting in flame just at being in the presence of his endless rage alone.

"Come out, little lambs! I tracked you all the way here. Now face your deaths with some damned courage! Lest I roast all of these innocent villagers to cinders." Surtr growled furiously as he stomped down the dirt road.

Villagers scrambled about, screaming in terror as Surtr's grip on his axe, Sinmara, tightened to the point that it seemed he might break his own weapon.

"Stop your insistent hiding!"

"The only one who should be hiding is you, monster!

The gaze of Surtr's one good eye darted towards the direction of the voice just as a pegasus came soaring down from the sky, the end of a sharp sword meeting Surtr's chest and causing a loud clang of metal clashing together to resonate through the air as the pegasus dashed past Surtr, causing him to stumble back a step with a grunt of discomfort as the pegasus's rider clung tightly to her reins.

"Now, sisters!" The rider cried out, her green hair blowing wildly in the wind.

Surtr stared forward with a piercing gaze as two more pegasus knights rained down from the sky with their long lances poised to strike.

Seeing the blue-haired woman and the pink-haired girl not far behind her with their weapons prepared to strike him down, Surtr let out a boisterous laugh and held his arms out for them to land their blows, "Yes, come, pegasus riders! Hit me with everything you've got!"

The two sisters came within mere feet of Surtr before he suddenly let huge aura of fire engulf his body, sending waves of heat out that caused the pegasus to rear back from the heat with loud squeals of terror.

"Catria, fall back!" The pink-haired rider shouted to her older, blue-haired sister.

Catria, however, was not fazed by the heat and tugged on the reins for her pegasus to resume its charge, "No! I will cut this monster down right now!"

With that, she spurred her pegasus to dive down towards Surtr once again, the hulking king of flames grinning wickedly as he pulled his axe back before thrusting out his axe in a vicious swing, Sinmara's blade shattering Catria's lance and striking her pegasus's wing hard as the two went flying back Catria's pegasus neighed at the top of its lungs as it turned tail to fly away, almost throwing Catria off her saddle as it flew away with uneven flaps of its now broken wings.

"W-Woah!" Catria cried out as her pegasus took off against her command with her in tow on its back.

* * *

Tobin and Celica sprinted back into town as fast as they could, the air leaving their lungs in panting breaths before they suddenly spotted a large, white pegasus spiraling around in the sky with a blue-haired rider on its back as it began to tumble downward towards the earth.

"What the hell?! Who is that?" Tobin shouted out at the sight.

Celica squinted at the rider as she tried to make out who it was before gasping in shock, "That's Catria of the Whitewings! What is she doing here?!"

Tobin's eyes widened as the pegasus finally kicked Catria off its back, the horse-like creature diving for a bush to try and cushion its own fall as Catria soared towards the ground at full-speed.

"Never mind that, she's about to hit the ground!"

Without a second thought, Tobin dashed straight ahead in the direction he saw Catria was about to land, his arms and legs thrusting back and forth as he moved swift as the wind.

"Ahh!" Catria screamed as she came within a few meters off the ground when Tobin kicked off a nearby wagon full of fish in a last ditch effort to leap towards Catria's tumbling body.

In one sudden, blurring moment, Tobin's body collided with Catria's, his arms wrapping tightly around her body as he soared through the air before crashing against the dry grass, his body sliding several long meters with Catria clinging to him in desperation before his body was finally stopped by a nearby tree, causing a loud thud as his head connected with its dense, wooden trunk.

"Ugh…" Tobin panted out, holding the back of his head painfully, "Not my most graceful save ever." He groaned out.

Catria's blue eyes were shut tightly as if she were still bracing for impact before finally opening them and looking up to see Tobin's pale face, his pale skin now covered in mud and grass stains as he looked down at her with a concerned expression.

"You alright, Lady Whitewing?" Tobin asked as she stared up at him in slight awe.

Finally after staring at him for a few lingering seconds, she let her eyes blink as she whispered, "You saved my life…"

Tobin's eyebrows rose a bit in surprise as he glanced up at the huge mud trail his body left in the grass from where he had slid for so long with her in his grasp, "Well, yeah, I guess I did. It's really no big deal though, it's just what I-"

He was sharply interrupted by Catria wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder, "T-Thank you." She gasped out, still shaking slightly from the near-death experience.

Tobin jumped a little at being clung to so tightly but finally, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her in return, "You're welcome. It's what I'm here for."

Celica finally caught up to them, panting breathlessly from how fast she had to run to catch up with Tobin's surprising speed before noticing the two basically cuddling against the tree.

She frowned for a moment at seeing the two of them before muttering out, "Oh…?" Then the direness of the situation returned to her as she suddenly cried out, "Oh, Catria! Are you alright?!" She asked, rushing over to her side as Tobin let her recover in his arms.

Catria looked up at Tobin again with wide eyes before turning to Celica with a puzzled expression, "Celica? My sisters… They're in danger! They were fighting some sort of terrible monster. You have to help them! I won't be nearly as effective without my pegasus, so I'm going to go find her and see if she can still fly or not."

Tobin finally started to stand up, holding Catria to help her up as well, "That's fine. Celica and I can handle 'Mad-and-Ugly', you just focus on getting your pegasus calmed down. Ready, Celica?"

Celica nodded quickly and turned around to sprint towards the center of town, once again with Tobin trailing behind her, wiping some of the grass off his shirt.

"Be careful, Tobin!" Catria exclaimed as they rushed away.

At hearing that, he grew a surprised look at being acknowledged over Celica, before glancing back at her from over his shoulder and giving her a confident thumbs-up, "Never count Tobin out!"

Catria smiled a little at that before spinning in the opposite direction and running towards where her pegasus had crash landed moments ago.

* * *

Surtr let out a furious roar as he swung out his axe out at the pegasus knights flying around him, his wild swings barely missing each time and the knights striking him with their own blades, having very little effect on the armored fire king as they led him towards the docks in their long battle, drawing him away from the village.

The eldest sister of the knights retreated into the sky with her sword held tight in one hand and her long, green hair blowing in the wind, "It's no use… our horses will collapse by the time we so much as dent his armor."

"Palla!" The youngest sister cried out, flying up to join her at her side, "What should we do? We need backup!"

Palla nodded, brushing her green hair back from her face to look down at the menace below them on the docks, the piercing gaze of his remaining red eyes staring daggers into her very soul, "We need backup, Est, I know. But this is simply all we can do for now. If we can keep him away from the civilians just long enough, perhaps Zofia will send troops in to help."

Est bit her bottom lip nervously but nodded in return, "I'm with you until the end, sister."

Palla gave a small half-smile at that, "Then let's show that monster what we Whitewings were trained for, yeah? Let's go!"

With that, the two remaining sisters took flight again, dashing apart from each other before diving in towards Surtr from both sides of him, preparing for a devastating duo attack on the hulking armor.

Surtr grinned in amusement before spinning his axe around in preparation for a counterstrike of his own, "Yes. I will remove both of your heads with one swing-!"

"Don't forget about us, ugly!"

Surtr's eye grew wide at the familiar male voice as he spun around just in time to see Tobin come flying towards him in a powerful lunge-kick, his brown boot crashing into Surtr's eye that Tobin stabbed out just a day previously and sending Surtr reeling back with a cry of pain.

"Gods damn it all! You insolent pest, I'll hang you by your entrails!" Surtr threatened before suddenly receiving a powerful blow from his left by Palla's sword, and then from his right with Est's lance. The unexpected strikes, caused Surtr to topple from side-to-side before stumbling back further on the docks, his golden boots heavy against the old wooden planks as he got closer to the ocean behind him.

Celica ran up behind Tobin to join him just as Tobin noticed Surtr stumbling back towards the ocean.

His chocolate brown eyes grew wide as a plan suddenly entered his mind, "Celica, the ocean! If we can knock Surtr into the water, all of that armor will make him sink like an anchor!"

The redheaded queen stopped beside him, drawing her sword swiftly from its sheath as she listened to Tobin's plan, "That's brilliant, Tobin. Let's do it!"

Tobin blushed bashfully and scratched the back of his head, "Brilliant? You really think so? Aw, shucks, I dunno about any of that but I guess it was a pretty good plan-"

"Now's not the time to get a big head, Tobin!" Celica exclaimed as she rushed forward with a flurry of strikes towards Surtr, to which the slowly stumbling king responded in kind, bring his axe down on top of her to which she quickly parried and darted back in for another exchange of their ferocious blades.

Tobin tripped over his own two feet in slight embarrassment for a moment before returning to reality and rushing up behind her to help, "R-Right, my bad!"

Est soared around atop her pegasus to fly at Palla's side again as they came back for another onslaught of attacks, "Sister, is that Celica? What is she doing here?! And who's the plain-looking boy with her?"

"We'll sort that out later! For now, we need to help them. Let's dive, again!" Palla cried out in response before spurring her pegasus forward with Est not far behind her.

Surtr gasped out, becoming quickly overwhelmed by the sword lashes of Tobin and Celica, striking out at him one after another with near-perfect precision and timing between each other's attacks that seemed to only get better as the fight went on.

"Ngh. Agh!" Surtr grunted sharply again and again as he was forced backwards on the shaky dock beneath him.

Tobin and Celica suddenly stopped their all-out attack at the sight of Palla and Est returning for two more swift strikes delivered into Surtr's chest and shoulder, jerking him back ever further before the pair from Ram Village lunged back in once again, Celica delivering a powerful slash to Surtr's knee, dropping him to a kneeling position before she spun away from Tobin, who was rushing in behind her.

"This is for all the homes you've burned down!" Tobin shouted loudly as he gripped his silver sword in both hands and brought his blade flying upwards in a devastating uppercut to Surtr's grimacing, tan face.

His silver blade struck the king of fire with all his might, Surtr's helmet flying off into the ocean from the impact and Tobin's entire sword shattering from the sheer momentum of the strike as he was thrown back from Surtr who had stumbled all the way back onto the edge of the dock, his deep red eye rolling in a daze. His red hair and the dark skin of his face were now fully exposed.

Palla and Est watched the scene in slight shock from above as Tobin looked down at his shattered sword with a befuddled look before tossing the now useless weapon aside.

Spinning around on one heel, Tobin lurched forward, facing Celica, with his hands cupped together suddenly, "Finish him off, Celica, I'll give you a boost!"

Celica was confused for a moment before nodding in affirmation, "Right." Without another moment of hesitation, she sprinted towards Tobin at full speed before jumping towards him, planting her foot firmly between his cupped hands before Tobin threw her up into the air with every last bit of his strength.

A graceful spin accompanied Celica's high jump into the sky before she came crashing down again, her boot smashing into Surtr's face before she nimbly kicked off of him. Almost immediately, the wood beneath Surtr's feet crumbled and collapsed, causing Surtr to fall back very slowly towards the ocean.

"No! No!" Surtr cried out in desperation as he reached out into the air to try and grab something to save himself before he plummeted into the ocean. A gushing splash shot into the air, showering Tobin and Celica in sea water as Surtr's heavy body sunk straight to the bottom, disappearing from sight.

At seeing Celica successfully finish Surtr off, Tobin's arms and legs shook tiredly and he let out a sheepish chuckle, "Wow… Good job, everyone!" With that, Tobin fell onto his rear end before tumbling onto his back, letting out an exasperated sigh as he held onto the scar on his chest in slight pain.

"Tobin?" Celica called out to him in concern as she rushed to his side, kneeling down next to him to hold his head up as he grinned up at her weakly.

"I'm alright… I think I just… pushed myself a little too hard," Tobin whispered before his eyes shut and he fell limp against Celica's body.

"Tobin!" She cried out, shaking him lightly.

Saber and Genny had just arrived with Catria not far behind them, gently leading her injured pegasus along on foot.

Upon seeing Tobin weakened and unconscious in Celica's arms, Genny rushed over to them immediately with her staff in hand and she pressed two fingers against the spot beneath Tobin's tense jaw for a moment to feel for his pulse.

"He's alright, Celica. His pulse is beating very slowly, but he'll be okay. It seems that he's pushed his body way too hard as of late," Genny told her, pulling her hand away and waving her staff over Tobin's body to cause him to shimmer with a light green glow, "A little healing to soothe the pain and some rest, and he should be in fit condition again in no time!"

Celica let out a quiet sigh of relief and smiled at Genny softly, "Thank you, Genny. I always know I can count on you."

Genny blushed brightly and smiled at her in return, "Healing is just what I'm here for!"

Catria walked over with her pegasus trotting close behind her just as Palla and Est landed their own pegasus on the docks across from the group and jumped off to greet their sister. "Catria!" Est squeaked out, throwing her arms around Catria and pressing her face into her shoulder as she shook lightly, "Oh, Catria, I thought we'd lost you!"

The blue-haired Whitewing sister was taken aback at first by the sudden embrace before Palla joined them, wrapping an arm around Catria's shoulders and smiling at her warmly, "We were so worried about you, Catria. Thank the Gods you're safe."

Catria blushed harshly before smiling a bit to herself, "I'm okay, sisters, really. It was a very close call but… Tobin over there managed to save me at the last possible second. I owe him a great debt now."

The sisters glanced over at the unconscious knight in Celica's arms with surprised looks before Palla gently let go of Catria and walked over to join Celica, Saber, and Genny as they tended to Tobin.

"You both fought valiantly, Celica. Though the conditions we met again under weren't preferable, I don't think I've ever been so glad to see you," Palla told her with a small smile, "You were just the kind of backup we needed to finish that beast off. But I have to ask, why is this young man protecting you? Where's Alm?"

A dull silence filled the air between them as Celica looked down slowly.

Saber's face paled a little before he reached up to scratch the back of his head, "Oh boy. Uh, about that. Alm is… no longer with us. Neither is Zofia, in fact. The whole damn continent is kind of in disarray right now. That's why Celica here is being protected by the lad, and that's why Genny and I are joining them to start building a makeshift army of sorts. With the whole blasted Zofian army in shambles, we have to make due with all the connections we got going for us."

Est suddenly jumped at hearing that and rushed over to join the small group, "Palla, the rumors were right. If King Alm and Zofia has fallen, then that means the reports we received back in Archanea were true!"

Palla nodded slowly and grew a deep frown as she thought over what Saber told her, "By the Gods, I prayed the reports were wrong. And if it's true that this death deity the report mentioned is behind it all… Celica is going to need all the help she can get. This is dealing with every level of a true otherworldly crisis."

Genny looked up at the Whitewing sisters with wide eyes, "Is that why you three came back to Zofia? Has word truly spread so quickly?"

Catria glanced over from where she was tending to her pegasus and nodded, "Word travels quickly within our ranks. Not to mention we've kept a close connection with Zofia after the journey we shared with Celica and the rest of you. Among the rest of Archanea's forces, we were probably the first to receive word of Zofia's fall."

Celica looked up with a weak smile as she let Tobin's head rest against her lap, "Any help you all can provide would be immensely helpful to me. I would owe you my life for this."

Palla smiled in return, "We owe you one too, Celica, don't forget. Est and I will fly back to Archanea… But Catria, what should be done about your pegasus? Her wings seem to be mangled badly from the battle."

The blue-haired Whitewing sister looked down with a deep frown and hummed quietly in thought, "I do not know. I won't abandon her though… I will have to stay here with Celica and try to help in any way I can while my pegasus heals. I'll be alright here, if you two fly to Archanea without me, really."

Est turned to Catria with a worrisome expression, "Catria, are you sure? We don't want to leave you here all by yourself!"

Catria turned away from her pegasus for a moment and stood tall, a confident smile finding its way across her lips, "I won't be alone. Celica, Tobin, and the others are here with me. I'll be alright, I promise."

With that, Est ran over to Catria and threw her arms around her, "I love you, Catria! You're so brave." She beamed up at Catria, though the worry in her voice still remained.

Palla walked over to hug Catria as well, shutting her eyes as the sisters said their goodbyes to Catria, "We won't be gone too long. We'll come back for you. So just don't be reckless, okay?"

Catria chuckled sheepishly and hugged them back, "I'm not reckless! If there's anyone you should be worried about, it's Celica and Tobin, they're certain to be more reckless than I am."

Saber raised an eyebrow as he watched from afar, "Hmm. Speaking of which, when did you and the lad enter a first-name basis? Do y'all know each other from back in the day?"

Catria blushed harshly and looked away, "He saved my life! I owe it to him to address him by his first name-"

The older man chuckled quietly, "Alright, whatever you say. Regardless, we should get a move on. With the villagers working together to put out this fire, the ships in the harbor are going to want to set out soon to avoid catching flame themselves."

Celica nodded in agreement, "Yes, we should find a vessel that will take us to Novis so that we can find what assistance they can offer us. If word has already reached as far as Archanea, I'm sure Mae and Boey must know about Zofia by now… they must be worried sick right now. Saber, can you carry Tobin?"

Saber was already making his way over before the words left her mouth and he nodded as he bent down to lift Tobin off her lap, "Yeah, yeah, I've got him. The lad's thinner than a toothpick, he shouldn't be too hard to-"

Saber threw Tobin over his shoulder and nearly fell over, his good eye widening in surprise, "Woah! Good Gods, what's this kid been eating?! He's got to be big-boned or something, there's no way the lad has any muscle on him!"

Celica watched with an amused giggle, "Good thing you're going to be the one to carry him!"

Genny rushed up behind the stumbling Saber and quickly held her arms up against his back as if her own very small body was going to be able to keep both of the men from falling, before Saber regained his balance.

"Heh. Thanks, love, but being behind me when I'm falling might not be the best place for you!"

Genny blushed nervously and looked down with a small, timid smile, "Heh. At least I'm trying!"

Saber used his free hand to run his fingers through her hair affectionately, before glancing over at the Whitewings again at noticing them beginning to part ways from each other.

Palla and Est mounted their pegasus across the docks from the group after saying their farewells to their middle sister. Upon getting themselves set to fly back to Archanea, Palla grew a determined look and nodded to Celica.

"Celica, we will try to return as soon as we possibly can with Arachanean reinforcements, but most will have to arrive by ship. It could take as long as two weeks to prepare the army for a war against the undead and get them all here to fight. Do you think you and the others can hold this land long enough for us to arrive with the reinforcements you need?"

Celica took a deep breath as she took in Palla's words, "As long as two weeks? That should be no problem. Hel is after me so… I will do my best to try and distract her from the innocents of Zofia and Rigel. If she wants me, she's going to prioritize my life over the lives of my citizens."

Est saluted her all of a sudden, "We trust you, milady! You led us through thick and thin. We know without a shadow of doubt that if anyone can do it, it's you!"

The priestess queen smiled at that and nodded to Est in gratitude, "Thank you, Est, and you too, Palla. We will take care of your sister while you two fly to Archanea. Good luck, I pray for clear skies on your journey back home… and may Mila's blessings be upon you."

Palla waved to them and smiled brightly, "Likewise to all of you. Until we return!" And with that, she nodded to Est as a signal for them both to take flight, their pegasus taking off gracefully into the sky as they flew back to their home country.

The group waved to the two Whitewings before Saber suddenly grew a grim look as he glanced down at Celica.

"You told them it would be no problem getting Hel's attention off the innocents in Zofia and Rigel and onto you. Is that really a good idea with you only having this new 'knight protector' of sorts watching your back at all hours of the day? Or are we all just riding on hope at this point?"

Celica pressed her hand over her heart slowly before looking up at Saber with a solemn expression.

"In a dire time like this… Hope is all we have left."

* * *

Hel sat upon her newly-claimed Zofian throne, an ominous, violet aura surrounding her entire being as she tapped her foot patiently against the velvet carpet beneath her, still stained with the royal blood she spilt.

Her cold, narrow, unfeeling eyes stared daggers at the throne room doors as she waited for one of her many scouts to arrive back with news of what became of her 'hunting dog', Surtr.

Without so much as a flinch, she watched as the doors creaked open to reveal an undead scout with skin that was grey and lifeless as could be. On his shoulder sat a crow with ruffled black feathers and half of its skull exposed as the scout approached Hel's throne and kneeled before her.

"Mistress Hel. I come with dire news…"

"Surtr is dead, again." Hel said before the scout could continue.

The scout nodded slowly, "Yes, Mistress, it would appear that way. Queen Celica and her knight protector found assistance in the form of three pegasus knights. The group dispatched him by forcing him into the ocean, where he sunk to the bottom. I waited for hours to see if he would resurface, but alas, it would seem he has been vanquished for the last time."

Hel shut her eyes quietly, "Pity. His strength was a valuable asset to me. Expendable. But still an asset, nonetheless."

Heavy, metallic footsteps made their way towards the throne behind the scout as the undead soldier looked up in confusion, "Expendable, Mistress?"

A subtle grin slowly pushed the corners of Hel's lips apart as her dark eyes opened again and she stared down the second figure that approached her throne, "Yes, expendable. For I have a far better hunter at my disposal. And this one is driven by love, rather than by a mere compulsive need to sew destruction."

Steel-colored eyes stared Hel down without so much as an ounce of fear as a deep, male voice replied, "You will honor our deal, witch. I bring you Celica… you give me back my Rinea."

The scout peered upwards with wide eyes full of shock, "Prince Berkut?!"

Almost immediately, the undead soldier was struck in the face by the back of Berkut's gloved hand, sending him flying back into a nearby pillar, "Do not address me by that title, worm. Not anymore."

Hel let out a quiet, raspy chuckle as she continued their conversation, "Our deal still stands, Prince-no-more. As I said, when I first brought you back from the grave, I will grant you a long and prosperous eternity with your little wife so long as you bring me what I want."

Berkut let out a quiet huff through his lips as he crossed his arms loosely, "Consider them already caught. But I expect a decent portion of your soldiers to be placed under my command. Unlike your big, armored dog that you sent out, I would prefer overwhelming their forces with my own."

Hel extended her palm to him, "Consider it done then. I will send you one legion of my army. I sincerely hope you still know how to lead an army?" She said, more as a question than a statement.

Berkut let out a deep, quiet chuckle as he turned around and took his leave away from her throne, tossing his royal blue cape back with one arm as he walked.

"Without their King Alm to lead them, they are doomed."

...


End file.
